The Department of State’s (DOS) August 2017 Visa Bulletin showed some minor forward movement in some employment-based categories, with no movement or retrogression in other employment-based visa categories. Referring to the Final Action Dates, the following are the updates for the August Visa Bulletin:

The Worldwide EB-1 category for India and China remains stalled at Jan. 1, 2012, while the other categories are current.

The cutoff date for worldwide chargeability in the EB-2 category moved from current to April 1, 2015, which may be a surprise to many. There was also retrogression in the El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras category; and in the Mexico and Philippines categories. China moved slightly from March 22, 2013, to April 22, 2013, and India remains stalled at July 22, 2008.

In the EB-3 category, the cutoff date for worldwide chargeability, which had a cut-off of June 8, 2017, in the July Bulletin, is now current; as are the El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras and Mexico categories. The cutoff date for mainland China remains stalled at Jan. 1, 2012. The Philippines had significant movement from May 15, 2014, to June 1, 2015. India moved slightly from Feb. 15, 2006, to July 15, 2006. The other categories are now current.

For those in the EB-5 category, the priority date remains current for all applicants other than those born in mainland China, which moved its cutoff date only by a few days from June 8, 2014, to June 15, 2014.

For those seeking to adjust status, The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) website indicates that the Department’s Application Final Action Dates chart must be used for filing Form I-485. This has not yet been updated with the August 2017 dates; however, we anticipate that USCIS will continue to follow Application Final Action Dates for August as it has to date.

Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Cases

Dates for Filing Employment-Based Visa Applications